janew
Junior Guinea Pig
Recently J has been showing some interest in Spike, not in a nasty way just seemingly wanting to say hello. He was always grumpy and hostile growing up and was a tough nut to crack, but has now mellowed into a very friendly and sociable grown up boar. So, over the weekend I thought I’d put him with Spike to see how they got on.
They’ve spent around 5 hours together in total and there was the expected dominance/getting to know you behaviour of sniffing, rumblestrutting, chasing, snapping (but not biting) etc, but every time Spike backed down. Sometimes he ran away, but sometimes he stayed close to J and they both sat munching grass together. At one point J was licking Spike’s ear and Spike didn’t seem to mind.
There was no sign of fighting and after about an hour I got more confident and put the towel down which I had kept hold of to throw over them just in case. On the other hand there was no real sign of happiness either – the occasional popcorn from Spike and the ear licking, but other than that they just sat munching (which I suppose could be seen as an overall positive in itself).
They were together on the grass, so the 'all you can eat' grass buffet no doubt acted as a distraction for the both of them and I’m not sure how they would be without this.
Unfortunately they’ve gone back to their separate living accommodation as I wasn’t in a position to move things round more permanently this weekend, I just wanted to see if there was any hope there and it seems that there is some compatibility in their personalities. I know that every time they meet they start the introductions again, so its obviously not good for them to spend time together only to be separated again, so I’m weighing up the longer term options for them.
They’re both lovely natured pigs and they seemed to generally enjoy each others’ company, despite the displays of dominance.
My question is, based on the above do you think it would be OK to put them together on a more permanent basis? (I wouldn’t just chuck them in the hutch and be done with it, I know that everything will need to be thoroughly cleaned and doubled up etc.)
I’ve never bonded piggies before so would just like to hear people’s thoughts on whether it seems worthwhile attempting to bond them more permanently. I only really know what I've read on this forum and online, so don't have any practical experience. I don’t want to cause them any unnecessary suffering by putting them into a stressful situation.
Thanks x
They’ve spent around 5 hours together in total and there was the expected dominance/getting to know you behaviour of sniffing, rumblestrutting, chasing, snapping (but not biting) etc, but every time Spike backed down. Sometimes he ran away, but sometimes he stayed close to J and they both sat munching grass together. At one point J was licking Spike’s ear and Spike didn’t seem to mind.
There was no sign of fighting and after about an hour I got more confident and put the towel down which I had kept hold of to throw over them just in case. On the other hand there was no real sign of happiness either – the occasional popcorn from Spike and the ear licking, but other than that they just sat munching (which I suppose could be seen as an overall positive in itself).
They were together on the grass, so the 'all you can eat' grass buffet no doubt acted as a distraction for the both of them and I’m not sure how they would be without this.
Unfortunately they’ve gone back to their separate living accommodation as I wasn’t in a position to move things round more permanently this weekend, I just wanted to see if there was any hope there and it seems that there is some compatibility in their personalities. I know that every time they meet they start the introductions again, so its obviously not good for them to spend time together only to be separated again, so I’m weighing up the longer term options for them.
They’re both lovely natured pigs and they seemed to generally enjoy each others’ company, despite the displays of dominance.
My question is, based on the above do you think it would be OK to put them together on a more permanent basis? (I wouldn’t just chuck them in the hutch and be done with it, I know that everything will need to be thoroughly cleaned and doubled up etc.)
I’ve never bonded piggies before so would just like to hear people’s thoughts on whether it seems worthwhile attempting to bond them more permanently. I only really know what I've read on this forum and online, so don't have any practical experience. I don’t want to cause them any unnecessary suffering by putting them into a stressful situation.
Thanks x
